Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

With utmost sadness I share with you today the fact that my copy of Peter Pan doesn’t have pictures in it.

But enough about that. J.M. Barrie wrote a story that I think two types of people would thoroughly enjoy: a) the ones with the wild and very active imagination and a mind that likes chaos and randomness and b) the ones high on drugs (but since this is a children’s book, I’d have to refrain from going into substance-abuse discussions). And I can completely see why a lot of grown ups read this book for the first time and not like it–unlike children’s minds, the mind of a grown up is limited and filled with bullshit from everyday-stupid-and-boring-life (with no mermaids and Never birds). I believe J.M. Barrie is a really good writer. What I also believe, however, is that he wrote this book while having one helluva trip with his best friend, the green fairy, that I think actually inspired the character of Tinker Bell. And speaking of Tinker Bell, there’s a reason why she isn’t my niece’s favorite fairy…Or mine!

Peter Pan–the story of the boy who never grows up and lives in limbo where the lost boys always run around motherless and are being constantly followed by pirates who want to catch and kill them; who on the other hand are followed by savage redskins who want the pirates’ scalps and are afraid of and running from the beasts. Oh yeah, and there’s the ticking crocodile with a sophisticated taste for pirate flesh. I say, that’s some hell of a limbo I don’t wanna live in! And to end up in this place, where one never grows up, you need to be a lost boy. But becoming a lost boy makes you lose your nice privileges, like being tucked in at night and having pockets sewn to your clothes. Does wanting to live in Neverland and not wanting to grow up mean that there wouldn’t be anybody there to tuck you at night and sew your pockets for all eternity? Man…

I don’t want to grow up. Here I am, between wanting to be like Peter Pan and not wanting to lose my tuck-in privileges and/or being killed by a pirate lord and/or eaten by a ticking crocodile who all of a sudden has decided he needs a change from his usual pirate diet. So I say, go to work, pay your taxes, be serious and still believe in fairies, mermaids and awesome Never birds!, if that’s what you’re into. After all, who says both can’t go hand in hand? Just don’t be friends with the fairy because you can never be sure if she speaks behind your back (“You silly ass”)…